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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ I Just Realized Something About My Strat Tone Knobs...
Posted by: Praetorian Aug 26 2009, 01:26 AM
I never touch them. I guess I should use them for adjusting tone...but I always make tweaks to the toneport GX. I don't think I have ever moved them off of 10 ever. Mostly, because I don't really know what they do. Any tips from fellow strat owners?!
Posted by: JVM Aug 26 2009, 01:45 AM
The first knob controls the neck pickup, and the second the middle I believe. There's no knob for the bridge, but you can do mods to change that. Personally I like taking the bridge-middle position with the middle's tone knob most or all of the way down, though I don't use them too much myself. Also try the neck with the tone all the way down on a cranked tube amp.
Posted by: Praetorian Aug 26 2009, 01:50 AM
Interesting....
I find that I prefer the neck+middle setting for almost all clean tones.
Posted by: UncleSkillet Aug 26 2009, 02:28 AM
I find that I prefer the neck+middle setting for almost all clean tones.
I also prefer that position for a fat clean sound.
The nobs really depend on what model and pickup configuration (and pickups) for you model. Here are a few links that may help.
Download the PDF file for your model and it will tell you what everything is in a one sheet diagram.
http://www.fender.com/products/s1/
Here are a few other that might be interresting to look at also.
http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?section=guitars&cat=stratocaster
http://www.fender.com/support/stratocaster.php
Posted by: JVM Aug 26 2009, 03:39 AM
I find that I prefer the neck+middle setting for almost all clean tones.
My top three favorite clean settings are neck on full tone, neck middle full tone, and bridge middle also on full (I like to think this sounds like a Mark Knopfler sound, at least on my strat). Fiddling with the tone knobs is most rewarding when you have a bit of drive through the whole gain range, I find. There's a lot of subtle nuances, and of course, you have to match your settings to your guitar and your amp, and also your playing style.
Posted by: sted Aug 26 2009, 07:53 PM
A lot of strat owners rewire the tone pot so it controls the bridge pup, this mod is already done on mine and i do use it quite a lot to smooth out the bridge pickup, especially at higher volumes. I like the noise cancelling of the in-between positions as well as that out of phase type sound.
Posted by: Jesse Aug 26 2009, 08:00 PM
I havent rewired it. But I use it A LOT! Almost always..... I love it:D
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Aug 26 2009, 09:00 PM
I use tone knobs all the time, specially at the gig, you can really feel the control there. I use volume often as well, to clean up the signal a bit.
Tone controls create more smoother tone when lowered down. Since there are two tone controls and 5 positions there are plenty of sounds right there, just gotta explore them.
What I like sometimes to do is lower down the tone of the neck completely, and crank the tone on the bridge. Then when you bend the long note, and you switch back and fourth betwen 1-5 you get a cool wah-like effect.
Posted by: Jesse Aug 26 2009, 09:17 PM
I use it alot yes, roll down tone knob for a smoother sound indeed Ivan!
For jazzy stuff, or even Hendrix tone, or a fuzzy kind!
Posted by: Praetorian Aug 27 2009, 12:07 AM
Tone controls create more smoother tone when lowered down. Since there are two tone controls and 5 positions there are plenty of sounds right there, just gotta explore them.
What I like sometimes to do is lower down the tone of the neck completely, and crank the tone on the bridge. Then when you bend the long note, and you switch back and fourth betwen 1-5 you get a cool wah-like effect.
I have to try that!!
Posted by: bluetag Aug 27 2009, 02:24 AM
ya i have a strat as well i think the tones knobs really make a difference. i usually lower them to get a jazzier nasal type of smoother tone.
Posted by: Sensible Jones Aug 27 2009, 12:50 PM
Try Bridge+Middle and then roll the Tone off as you're playing until you find a sound you like.
SRV!
Posted by: Crazyfret Aug 27 2009, 01:18 PM
As been stated above there are a lot of ways to colour your sound.
I tend to find the bridge pick up to thin and looking into doing a small mod to control the tone before I buy any pickups.
My favoured position is the bridge + middle with the tone rolled of if I'm using distortion tho I've have been trying to use the bridge pick up on lead work and eq'ing the sound via the podxt or sometimes I use a wah pedal and set it in a particular position to get the sound I want. I also like positions 2 + 4 for that out of phase sound for funk and the neck pup is good for a full clean rhythm playing.
I like to ask a question also. If replacing pup's can you just replace one or do you need to buy a matching set? I was wondering cause I want to reduce the hum I think DiMarzio HS-2 looks ideal to replace the bridge pick up. Has anyone used these pup's?
Posted by: Sensible Jones Aug 27 2009, 02:39 PM
HS-2, HS-3 (Yngwie Sig) or SDS are a good alternative. It won't remove the Hum completely as the different pickups will have different impedances (hence 'Matched Sets').
A good combo is HS-2 in bridge position, HS-3 in middle position and original in Neck. I sometimes use this combo but install a stacked humbucker in the bridge (instead of HS-2) with a coil tap so the single coil option and sound are still there! It's not too hard to do either!
Posted by: Crazyfret Aug 27 2009, 05:17 PM
A good combo is HS-2 in bridge position, HS-3 in middle position and original in Neck. I sometimes use this combo but install a stacked humbucker in the bridge (instead of HS-2) with a coil tap so the single coil option and sound are still there! It's not too hard to do either!
Ah I get ya
Thanks for clearing that up.I was wondering whether to use a Hot rail pup for the bridge with a coil tap as you suggested. I'm toying with buying a installed set mounted on a pick guard then its just a case of swaping the old one for the new pups. A bit pricey but I think the electrics on my guitar hasn't been touched since it was built (about 1985) and maybe due for an overhaul.
Posted by: Sensible Jones Aug 27 2009, 05:38 PM
Thanks for clearing that up.I was wondering whether to use a Hot rail pup for the bridge with a coil tap as you suggested. I'm toying with buying a installed set mounted on a pick guard then its just a case of swaping the old one for the new pups. A bit pricey but I think the electrics on my guitar hasn't been touched since it was built (about 1985) and maybe due for an overhaul.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/cutting-edge/hot_rails_for_s/ is a good choice for H/B, also Seymour Duncan do quite a few other H/B options:-
There's the http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/cutting-edge/cool_rails_for/, http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/progressive/duckbuckers_sdb/, http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/cutting-edge/jb_jr_sjbj1/,http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/cutting-edge/lil_screamin_de/, http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/cutting-edge/little_59_for_s/ and http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/progressive/vintage_rails_s/!!
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Aug 27 2009, 11:57 PM
Hendrix and SRV did it frequently, SRV being the one who picked it up from Jimmy.
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